Multi-Stream Multi-Channel Process and Apparatus

ABSTRACT

Provided is a process and apparatus for exchanging heat energy between three or more streams in a millichannel apparatus, which millichannel apparatus may comprise a heat exchanger which may be integrated with a millichannel reactor to form an integrated millichannel processing unit. The combining of a plurality of integrated millichannel apparatus to provide the benefits of large-scale operation is enabled. In particular, the millichannel heat exchanger enables flexible heat transfer between multiple streams and total heat transfer rates of about 1 Watt or more per core unit volume expressed as W/cc.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. Pat.App. No. 13/747,440, filed Jan. 22, 2013, currently pending.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/747,440, filed Jan. 22, 2013, was acontinuation of, and claimed priority to, U.S. patent application Ser.No. 12/839,063, filed Jul. 19, 2010, then pending, now abandoned.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/839,063, filed Jul. 19, 2010, was acontinuation of, and claimed priority to, U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/300,914, filed Dec. 15, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,780,944, thenpending, issued Aug. 24, 2010.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/839,063, filed Jul. 19, 2010, was adivisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/222,604, filed JanuaryAug. 15, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,835, issued Mar. 21, 2006.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/300,914, filed Dec. 15, 2005, nowU.S. Pat. No. 7,780,944, was a divisional of, and claimed priority to,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/222,604, filed Aug. 15, 2002,entitled “Multi-Stream Microchannel Device”, now U.S. Pat. No.7,014,835, then pending, issued Mar. 21, 2006.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/222,604, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,014,835is related to the following commonly-assigned applications filedconcurrently therewith on Aug. 15, 2002: “Integrated Combustion Reactorsand Methods of Conducting Simultaneous Endothermic and ExothermicReactions”, Attorney Docket No. 02-052, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,250,151, and“Process for Cooling a Product in a Heat Exchanger EmployingMicrochannels for the Flow of Refrigerant and Product”, Attorney DocketNo. 01-002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,622,519, which applications areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to millichannel and microchannel devices andprocesses for multi-stream heat exchange and particularly tomulti-stream heat exchange in combination with chemical reaction andmore particularly to multi-stream heat exchange in combination withendothermic chemical reactions such as reforming and more particularlyto endothermic reactions coupled with exothermic reactions such ascombustion.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Heat exchangers are critical components in virtually all unit operationsinvolving fluid (gas or liquid) streams. They become even more criticalwhen it is desired to add heat or thermal energy or take away heat orthermal energy from a chemical reaction. For example, endothermicreactions often require, or benefit from, the addition of heat energy.Exothermic reactions, on the other hand, often require, or benefit from,the removal of heat energy. Owing to the economic importance of manysuch chemical reactions, there is a continual quest for improvedperformance, both in terms of conversion of reactants to products and interms of selectivity to desired products relative to undesired products.

MicroChannel Technology (MCT) has been demonstrated to provide many suchbenefits and recent years have seen a significant increase in theapplication of MCT to many unit operations. See, e.g., A. A. Rostami etal., Flow and Heat Transfer for Gas Flowing In Microchannels: A Review,38 Heat and Mass Transfer 359-67 (2002) (applications in medicinebiotechnology, avionics, consumer electronics, telecommunications,metrology, and many others) and R. S. Wegeng et al., Compact FuelProcessors for Fuel Cell Powered Automobiles Based on MicrochannelTechnology, Fuel Cells Bulletin No. 28 (2002) (compact hydrogengenerators for fuel cells). MCT utilizes microchannel devices forcarrying out processes that had previously been constrained to farlarger equipment; often three to 1,000 times as large for comparabletotal throughput. MCT devices, which contain features of at least oneinternal dimension of width or height of less than about 2 mm andpreferably less than about 1 mm, have the potential to change unitoperations in ways analogous to the changes that miniaturization hasbrought to computing technology. MCT can be used to advantage insmall-scale operations, such as in vehicles or personal (portable)devices. Importantly, too, MCT systems that can be economicallymass-produced and connected together to accomplish large-scaleoperations are very desirable.

More particularly, heat exchangers have become smaller and smaller withmore heat energy transferred per unit volume due to the additional areaof smaller channels in heat exchangers. Earlier technology includesso-called compact heat exchangers. See, e.g., V. V. Wadekar, a ChE'sGuide to CHEs, Chemical Engineering Progress, December 2000, 30-49.Compact heat exchangers provide heat energy transfer rate densities, orheat energy transfer rate per unit volume (thermal power density) (wherethe volume is the total core volume as defined herein below), only up toabout 0.4 W/cc for gas-phase exchangers. MCT heat exchangers, bycomparison, provide heat energy transfer rate densities (thermal powerdensity) of about 1 W/cc to 40 W/cc. Compact heat exchangers also havelow interstream planar heat transfer percents, typically less than 10percent. MCT heat exchangers, by comparison, have much higherinterstream planar heat transfer percents, typically greater than 10percent, preferably greater than 20 percent, more preferably greaterthan 40 percent, and even more preferably greater than 50 percent. Inaddition, MCT heat exchangers can rely on smaller average approachtemperatures when producing the higher thermal power densities.

The above disadvantages of compact heat exchangers can be overcome bythe use of MCT heat exchangers. There are problems, however, even withexisting MCT heat exchangers. For example, MCT heat exchangers have notbeen designed which can process more than two separate streams in asingle integral device. Processing three or more streams in a heatexchanger can, for example, enable unequal heat gain and loss betweenthe three or more streams. Thus, when it is desirable to transfer heatenergy between three or more streams, a compact heat exchanger must beemployed or multiple two-stream MCT heat exchangers must be employed.Even multiple two-stream MCT heat exchangers, however, allowsignificantly more heat transfer to the ambient and the necessary streamtransfer piping can cause higher pressure drops to redistribute flows ordead zones and eddies which can cause extended residence times. Theseextended residence times can cause fouling, corrosion, erosion,decomposition, formation of undesirable byproducts, and, for example,coke can be deposited when processing carbon-containing streams atelevated temperatures. Furthermore, for MCT heat exchangers to realizetheir full potential, they must be combined in significant numbers to bescaled up to economic large-scale operations. Thus, owing to having alarge number of small MCT heat exchangers in close proximity and theclose proximity of one channel to another, manifolding the streamsentering and exiting an MCT heat exchanger (or any MCT device) becomes aproblem.

The manifold design objective is to provide for acceptably uniform flowthrough a device with an acceptable manifold geometry and streammechanical energy losses. See, W. M. Kays and A. L. London, Compact HeatExchangers, 3d ed., at 41 (1984). Restated, manifold design requirestradeoffs among device performance factors as affected by flowuniformity, overall pressure drop, and manifold size and complexity. Forexample, device performance could be heat transfer performance in thecase of endothermic reactions coupled with exothermic reactions withinan MCT device. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, themanifold design for any given stream is readily approached throughapplication of fluid dynamics. Kays at 41-43.

When manifolding multiple streams in MCT devices, the design problembecomes even greater than designing a two-stream manifold. Having morestreams present in a device means proportionally less of the externalsurface area of that device is available for accessing each stream. Thecompactness of an MCT device works against the geometric spacingrequirements needed to seal manifolds to prevent stream-to-streamleakage. The manifold design must, therefore, address both the designobjective stated herein above, as well as the limited external surfacearea.

Heat exchangers are not the only unit operation to benefit from the pushtoward miniaturization. Closely related, reactors, too, have begun toshrink in size substantially and with excellent results. Wegeng at 9-12(vaporizers, reforming reactors, and steam reforming). There remain,however, special problems involving MCT reactors and the need for heattransfer. For example, thermal stresses pose significant problems. MCTdevices are manufactured and assembled to much higher tolerances thancomparable conventional large-scale devices and multiple MCT devicesmust be closely-packed to economically match the throughput ofcomparable to large-scale devices. (An MCT device, while producing highoutput per core unit volume of the device, typically must be combined invery high numbers to provide comparable throughput.) Thus, temperaturedifferentials that could be easily tolerated by a conventional device ofgreater dimensions can produce unacceptable thermal stresses in an MCTdevice which is smaller and thus experiences a much higher temperaturegradient. Illustratively, an MCT reactor that is overly constrainedgeometrically either by multiple integral heat exchangers orintegrally-combined multiple integral MCT heat exchanger/reactor unitscan be subjected to potentially destructive thermal stresses. Ingeneral, as a result of the increased efficiency of MCT heat exchangers,they exhibit high temperature gradients with corresponding high thermalstresses. To solve this problem, heat exchangers have been “de-coupled”from the reactors to allow for thermal expansion. In doing so, however,separate piping or tubing is required. As a result, as with multipletwo-stream MCT heat exchangers, there can be significant heat lossbetween multiple units to the ambient and through associated piping ortubing. As noted herein above, such piping connections can become sitesfor fouling and coke-formation problems. Alternatively, more expensivemetals that can tolerate the thermal stresses or inexpensive throwawaydevices must be employed.

In addition, the goal of combining multiple heat exchanger/reactordevices to provide economically high total throughput has proved to beelusive. See, e.g., O. Woerz, Microreactors as Tools in ChemicalResearch, in Microreaction Technology, IMRET 5: Proceedings of the FifthInternational Conference on Microreaction Technology at 385 (MichaelMatlosz et al. eds. October 2001) (“In principle, [it is conceivablethat microreactors can also be used for production]. However, seriousproblems would be encountered.”). In the petroleum processing industry,for example, even minimally-sized specialty units, for example, hydrogenproduction, typically have a capacity of at least one million standardcubic feet per day (scfd) of hydrogen up to about 100 million scfd ofhydrogen. A single-stream MCT device, in contrast, produces, at most,1,000 to 10,000 scfd of hydrogen. Therefore, to provide comparablethroughput, a system must comprise from 100 to up to 100,000closely-integrated arrays of microchannel units.

The present invention overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art of havingto provide multiple two-stream heat exchangers with the necessaryinter-unit piping, the inability of integrating an MCT heat exchangerwith an MCT reactor, and combining a plurality of integrated MCT heatexchanger/reactor devices to form an MCT system to gain the benefits oflarge-scale operation, that is, high throughput to equal large-scaleoperations. In doing so, significant thermal power density with multiplestreams is achieved, heat loss to the ambient is reduced, corrosion,erosion, decomposition, and coke formation are reduced or eliminated,and higher throughput per unit volume is attained. In addition, thermalstresses are reduced by operating devices with a monotonicallyincreasing temperature profile.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Included is a process and device for exchanging heat energy betweenthree or more streams in an MCT heat exchanger, integrating the MCT heatexchanger with an MCT reactor to form an integrated MCT processing unit,combining a plurality of integrated MCT processing units into anintegrated MCT processing system, and finally combining a plurality ofintegrated MCT systems into an MCT processing stack to provide thebenefits of large-scale operation. Particularly, the MCT heat exchangeprocess and device enables flexible heat transfer between multiplestreams and total heat transfer rates of about 1 Watt (W) or more percore unit volume (cubic centimeters (cc)) (W/cc), pressure drop on theorder of about 0.25 psi per in. or less, stream Reynolds Numbers in thetransition or laminar zones, and interstream planar heat transferpercents of greater than about 30 percent. In some embodiments, theintegrated MCT heat exchanger and MCT reactor exhibits a monotonicallyincreasing temperature profile and, thus, thermal stresses areminimized.

In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a first microchannel, havingan inlet thereto and an outlet therefrom; a second microchannel, havingan inlet thereto and an outlet therefrom; and at least a thirdmicrochannel, having an inlet thereto and an outlet therefrom, whereineach inlet and each outlet is distinct from the other inlets or outlets,respectively.

In a further embodiment, a process comprises flowing a first stream,having a first temperature, through a first microchannel; flowing asecond stream, having a second temperature, through a secondmicrochannel; flowing at least a third stream, having an at least thirdtemperature, through an at least third microchannel; and placing thefirst stream in thermal communication with the second stream and the atleast third stream.

In a further embodiment, a process, comprises flowing a first fluidthrough a plurality of first microchannels; flowing a second fluidthrough a plurality of second microchannels; and flowing at least athird fluid through a plurality of at least third microchannels, theplurality of at least third microchannels being in thermal communicationwith the plurality of first microchannels and with the plurality ofsecond microchannels.

In a further embodiment, an apparatus comprises a first end and a secondend; a first microchannel; a second microchannel; a third microchannel;a fourth microchannel; a fifth microchannel; a sixth microchannel; and aseventh microchannel, each microchannel defining a passageway betweenthe first end and the second end, wherein each microchannel is inthermal communication with at least one of the other microchannels andthe first microchannel has a cross-sectional area different from atleast the second microchannel.

In a further embodiment, an apparatus comprises a polyhedron; at leastone first millichannel, each at least one first millichannel having afirst end and a second end, and each at least one first millichannelbeing disposed within the outside surfaces of the polyhedron, and eachat least one first millichannel having the first end in fluidcommunication with a first aperture at a polyhedral surface; at leastone second millichannel, each at least one second millichannel having afirst end and a second end, and each at least one second millichannelbeing disposed within the outside surfaces of the polyhedron, and eachat least one second millichannel having the first end in fluidcommunication with a second aperture at a polyhedral surface; at leastone third millichannel, each at least one third millichannel, each atleast one third millichannel having a first end and a second end, eachat least one third millichannel being disposed within the outsidesurfaces of the polyhedron, and each at least one third millichannelhaving the first end in fluid communication with a third aperture at apolyhedral surface; and wherein: the polyhedral surface comprising thefirst aperture is different than the polyhedral surface comprising thesecond aperture and the polyhedral surface comprising the first apertureshares an edge with the polyhedral surface comprising the secondaperture.

In a further embodiment, in the polyhedral apparatus immediately above,the at least one first millichannel comprises a plurality of firstmillichannels; and the polyhedral apparatus further comprises a firstmanifold, the first manifold in fluid communication with the first endof at least one of the plurality of first millichannels and the firstmanifold in further fluid communication with the first aperture.

In a further embodiment, in the polyhedral apparatus immediately above,the at least one second millichannel comprises a plurality of secondmillichannels; and the polyhedral apparatus further comprises a secondmanifold, the second manifold in fluid communication with the first endof at least one of the plurality of second millichannels and the secondmanifold in further fluid communication with the second aperture.

In a further embodiment, in the polyhedral apparatus immediately above,the at least one third millichannel comprises a plurality of thirdmillichannels; and the polyhedral apparatus further comprises a thirdmanifold, the third manifold in fluid communication with the first endof at least one of the plurality of third millichannels and the thirdmanifold in further fluid communication with the third aperture.

In a further embodiment, a process comprises: (a) introducing a firststream into the at least one first millichannel of one of the polyhedralapparatus above; (b) introducing a second stream into the at least onesecond millichannel of one of the polyhedral apparatus above; (c)introducing a third stream into the at least one third millichannel ofone of the apparatus above; (d) contacting the second stream and thethird stream, wherein a chemical reaction is effected; and (e)transferring heat between the first stream and the chemical reaction.

In a further embodiment, an apparatus comprises a first millichannel, asecond millichannel, the second millichannel in thermal communicationwith the first millichannel, and a third millichannel, the thirdmillichannel in fluid communication with the second millichannel.

In a further embodiment, a process comprises: (a) introducing a firststream into the first millichannel of the apparatus immediately above;(b) introducing a second stream into the second millichannel of theapparatus immediately above; and (c) introducing a third stream into thethird millichannel of the apparatus immediately above.

In a further embodiment, a process comprises: (a) chemically reactingthe second stream of the process immediately above, with the thirdstream of the process immediately above to form a product; and (b)transferring heat between the first stream and the second stream.

In a further embodiment, an apparatus comprises a first section and asecond section in combination; the first section comprising a firstfirst section millichannel and a second first section millichannel; thesecond section comprising a first second section millichannel in fluidcommunication with the first first section millichannel, a second secondsection millichannel in fluid communication with the second firstsection millichannel, and a third second section millichannel in fluidcommunication with the second second section millichannel.

In a further embodiment, in the apparatus immediately above the firstsection comprises a first unit operation and the second sectioncomprises a second unit operation.

In a further embodiment, in the apparatus immediately above the firstunit operation comprises a heat exchanger and the second unit operationcomprises a reactor.

In a further embodiment, a process comprises: (a) distributing a firstinlet stream into a plurality of first millichannels, thereby forming aplurality of first inlet streams; (b) distributing a second inlet streaminto a plurality of second millichannels, thereby forming a plurality ofsecond inlet streams; (c) distributing a third inlet stream into aplurality of third millichannels, thereby forming a plurality of thirdinlet streams; (d) contacting the plurality of second inlet streams andthe plurality of third inlet streams, wherein at least one chemicalreaction is effected, thereby forming a plurality of second outletstreams; (e) transferring heat between the plurality of first inletstreams and the at least one chemical reaction, thereby forming aplurality of first outlet streams; and (f) transferring heat between theplurality of first inlet streams and the plurality of first outletstreams.

The details of one or more implementations are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features will beapparent from the description and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a is a perspective view of a heat exchanger according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 1 b is a perspective section view at section 1 b-1 b of theperspective heat exchanger shown in FIG. 1 a.

FIG. 1 c is a plan view of the heat exchanger shown in FIG. 1 a.

FIG. 1 d is a schematic perspective view of the heat exchanger shown inFIG. 1 a illustrating counter-/co-flow operation.

FIG. 2 a is a perspective view of a cross-flow heat exchanger accordingto a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 b is a perspective section view of the cross-flow heat exchangershown in FIG. 2 a at section 2 b-2 b.

FIG. 2 c is a schematic perspective view of the cross-flow heatexchanger shown in FIG. 2 a illustrating co-/cross-flow operation.

FIG. 3 a is a cross-section view of an MCT device having a heat exchangeportion and a reaction portion in combination according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 b is a cross-section view of an MCT device having a heat exchangeportion and a reaction portion in combination having a reverseorientation of the MCT device illustrated in FIG. 3 a.

FIG. 4 is a cross-section view of an MCT device having a heat exchangeportion and a reaction portion in combination according to a furtherembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-section view of an MCT processing system having a heatexchange portion and a reaction portion in combination according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 6 a is an exploded perspective view of an MCT processing complexaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 6 b is an exploded perspective view of an MCT processing complexreaction portion according to a further embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 c is an exploded perspective view of an MCT processing complexcombustion portion according to a further embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 a is a modified negative cutaway perspective view of the MCTprocessing complex shown in FIG. 6 a where channels are shown as solidregions.

FIG. 7 b is a rotated modified negative cutaway perspective view of theMCT processing complex shown in FIG. 7 a.

FIG. 8 a is a perspective view an MCT processing stack according to afurther embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 b is a rotated perspective view of the MCT processing stack shownin FIG. 8 a.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the MCT processing stack shown in FIG. 8a illustrating stream headers and stream flows.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the heat exchanger described in Example 1.

FIG. 11 a is a perspective view of a first end of the heat exchangerdescribed in Example 1.

FIG. 11 b is a perspective view of a second end of the heat exchangerdescribed in Example 1.

FIG. 12 shows the Volumetric Flowrates, Outlet Pressures, and FluidCompositions for Example 1.

FIG. 13 shows the Inlet Temperatures for Example 1.

FIG. 14 shows the Outlet Temperatures for Example 1.

FIG. 15 shows the Pressure Drops for Example 1.

FIG. 16 shows a comparison of a heat exchanger according to the presentinvention with a computer simulation.

FIG. 17 shows the relationship of hydraulic diameter to heat transfercoefficient.

FIG. 18 shows an arrangement of channels exchanging heat wherein onefluid flows through a channel with heat enhancement fins.

FIG. 19 shows an arrangement of microchannels exchanging heat with noheat enhancement fins.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND BEST MODE

The term “millichannel” refers to a channel having at least one internaldimension of width or height of up to about 10 mm.

The term “microchannel” refers to a channel having at least one internaldimension of width or height of up to about 2 mm, and in one embodimentfrom about 0.1 mm to about 2 mm, and in one embodiment from about 0.1 mmto about 1 mm. The length may be up to about 5 meters (m) or more.Preferably, the length is about 1 m or less. More preferably the lengthis about 0.5 m or less. A microchannel is also a millichannel.

A millichannel may be used in an apparatus in conjunction withmicrochannels for both heat exchanger applications and for combined heatexchange and reactor applications. The milli-channel offers theadvantage of reduced pressure drop, but the disadvantage of lower heattransfer coefficients and surface area, including IPHTAP-type area.There are examples of when a process is advantaged by the inclusion of amilli-channel with microchannels for multiple fluid processing streams.As one example, if a relatively large fraction of heat greater than 70percent were desired to be transferred from Fluid A to Fluid B and amuch smaller fraction of heat from Fluid A to Fluid C in a singleapparatus, then the Fluid C channels may be made in the milli-channelrange. Combined exchanger and reactor applications may be advantaged bythe inclusion of one or fluid milli-channel. As an example, in the limitof a very low pressure drop constraint on one or more fluids, such ascombustion air, this channel may be designed in the milli-channel range.A very low pressure drop requirement for one fluid in a heat exchangerapplication may necessitate the use of a milli-channel. As one example,a process that utilized natural gas to provide home heating or powerwould be required to not exceed the allowable back pressure on the feedline, typically a few psi. Another advantage of a combined milli-channeland microchannel process is the combined application of homogeneouscombustion with additional heat exchangers to preheat and recover heat.Heat recovery from combustion may take the form of heating water forportable or stationary applications. Homogeneous combustion ischallenging in a microchannel for many hydrocarbon fuels, as thecritical hydrocarbon quench diameter is often larger than a microchannelbut well below the limits of a milli-channel. As an example, the quenchdiameter of methane exceeds 2 mm at room temperature and would notignite in a microchannel. As the critical dimension increases from themicrochannel range out to the broader millichannel range, the overallsize of the device may grow larger. For some applications, this is notdisadvantageous if there are no space limitations. It will beappreciated by one skilled in the art, that many applications could beadvantaged through the combinations of microchannels and milli-channelsto tailor the performance of a process to meet desired specifications.

The term “microchannel” or “MCT” when applied to a device, process,system, or the like, means that such device, process, or system includesat least one microchannel.

The term “MCT processing unit” refers to a microchannel device having atleast one reactor section and at least one heat exchanger section incombination.

The term “MCT processing system” refers to a plurality of MCT processingunits in combination.

The term “MCT processing complex” refers to a plurality of MCTprocessing systems in combination.

The term “MCT processing stack” refers to a plurality of MCT processingcomplexes in combination.

The term “total core volume V” refers to the sum total volume ofmicrochannels plus the volume of walls separating the microchannels, butspecifically excluding any volume defined by any manifolds or headers.Thus, outside walls which define the outer dimensions of the device, arenot included. Referring to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, by way of example only,the total core volume V of the device shown would be computed asfollows:

V=[(height 15a)*(width 15b)+(height 16a)*(width 16b)+(height 17a)*(width17b)+(height 18)*(width 17b)+(height 15a)*(width 19)]*[length 14]

As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the total core volumeV will be calculated based upon generally accepted principles of solidgeometry and different configurations may be approached in differentmanners.

The term “total thermal power density” refers to the amount of heatgained by the cold stream(s) divided by the total core volume V.

The term “interstream planar heat transfer area percent” (IPHTAP)relates to the highest effective heat transfer and refers to the surfacearea that separates two fluids exchanging heat in a channel deviceexcluding ribs, fins, and surface area enhancers as a percent of thetotal interior surface area of a channel that also includes ribs, fins,and surface area enhancers. That is, the ratio of the area through whichheat is transferred to neighboring channels with a different fluidflowing to the total surface area of the channel. Referring to FIG. 18,an arrangement of channels is shown exchanging heat; there are threefluids, Fluid A, Fluid B, and Fluid C. Fluid A exchanges heat with FluidB and with Fluid C. Channel A comprises heat enhancement fins (N/in.) asshown in FIG. 18. IPHTAP is calculated as [2 a/(2 a+2 b+2 c)]*100. In atypical compact heat exchanger, where a=2.0 in., b=0.5 in., and N=20fins/in., IPHTAP equals 16 percent. A geometry with IPHTAP=100 percentwould signify that all available area is utilized for exchanging heatwith neighboring different streams. This example assumes that heatexchange at both long edges of the channel. If the channel is an endchannel and exchanges heat at only one edge, IPHTAP=8 percent. In amicrochannel, in contrast (FIG. 19), where a=2.0 in., b=0.025 in.,d=0.040 in. and e=0.98 in., IPHTAP would be: Channel with Fluid A=[2a/(2 a+2 b)]*100=49 percent; Channel with Fluid B=[8 c/(8 c+8 b)]*100=95percent; Channel with Fluid C=[2 e/(4 e+4 b)]*100=49 percent.

When used in this Specification, the terms “reactor”, “reaction”,“combustor”, “combustion”, “oxidizer”, and the like, when referring tomicrochannels and streams, are nominal only. It is to be understoodthat, within the scope and spirit of the present invention, no reactionor any reaction and no combustion or any similar combustion orexothermic reaction may take place within such named microchannels. Byway of example only, reactions may include catalytic processes such asacetylation, addition reactions, alkylation, dealkylation,hydrodealkylation, reductive alkylation, amination, aromatization,arylation, autothermal reforming, carbonylation, decarbonylation,reductive carbonylation, carboxylation, reductive carboxylation,reductive coupling, condensation, cracking, hydrocracking, cyclization,cyclooligomerization, dehalogenation, dimerization, epoxidation,esterification, exchange, Fischer-Tropsch, halogenation,hydrohalogenation, homologation, hydration, dehydration, hydrogenation,dehydrogenation, hydrocarboxylation, hydroformylation, hydrogenolysis,hydrometallation, hydrosilation, hydrolysis, hydrotreating,hydrodesulfurization/hydrodenitrogenation (HD S/HDN), isomerization,methanation, methanol synthesis, methylation, demethylation, metathesis,nitration, oxidation, partial oxidation, polymerization, reduction,Sabatier reaction, steam and carbon dioxide reforming, sulfonation,telomerization, transesterification, trimerization, water gas shift(WGS), and reverse water gas shift (RWGS). By further example, phasechanges such as condensation and evaporation are also within thecontemplation of the present invention, as are operations such asabsorption and adsorption.

Referring initially to FIGS. 1 a-1 d, the MCT heat exchanger 10 of thepresent invention has a total core volume V and comprises a firstmicrochannel 12 a, a second microchannel 12 b, and at least a thirdmicrochannel 12 c. In operation, a first stream 20, a second stream 22,and at least a third stream 24 flow through the first microchannel 12 a,the second micro-channel 12 b, and the at least third microchannel 12 c,respectively. While FIG. 1 d illustrates a single-pass, parallelcounter/co-current flow pattern, it will be understood by those skilledin the art that the flow pattern may be any of suitable design. Multiplepass flows as well as co-current and cross-current flow patterns (shownin FIGS. 2 a-2 c) are possible. Importantly, the total thermal powerdensities of such devices can be from about one (1) W/cc to 40 W/cc ormore, the total pressure drop can be 0.25 psi per in. or less, and theinterstream planar heat transfer area percent greater than 10 percent.Particular attention is drawn to the shapes, sizes, and separations ofthe first microchannel 12 a, the second microchannel 12 b, and the atleast third microchannel 12 c. By varying the dimensions and overalldesign format of the microchannel layout and the walls separating themicrochannels, the flow of heat energy between streams can be variedvirtually infinitely. It is also possible to provide a higher heattransfer rate per unit volume, less metal between microchannels isrequired, and a higher heat transfer coefficient per hydraulic diameter.Thus,

h˜f(D _(h)), where h is the heat transfer coefficient, D _(h) is thehydraulic diameter, and

D _(h)=4A/P, where A is the cross-sectional area and P is the wettedperimeter.

As is shown, for example, in FIG. 16, heat transfer coefficients, hincrease as the hydraulic diameter, D_(h), decreases.

Consider, first, the overall size of the device; the width, length, andheight. A larger overall size leads to higher total heat capacities andless relative heat loss (Q_(loss)/Q_(total)) but also leads todifficulties in manifolding and flow distribution. In a counter-currentflow heat exchanger, a larger heat exchanger length gives a smalleraverage approach temperature between the hot and cold streams. That is,T_(hot-exit-mean)−T_(cold-inlet-mean). However, a smaller approachtemperature also indicates lower transversal heat flux between thestreams. Consider, next, the thermal properties of the device; includingthe thermal conductivity, specific heat, and density. A higher thermalconductivity gives a higher transversal heat transfer rate but alsohigher longitudinal heat conduction. The former will enhance the heattransfer between the streams in adjacent channels. The latter isundesirable because it degrades the heat exchange performance due tolarger approach temperatures. An optimal thermal conductivity for agiven structure and dimensions for microchannel heat exchangers can bedetermined. See, e.g., T. Stief et al., Numerical Investigations onOptimal Heat Conductivity in Micro Heat Exchangers, AIChE 2000 SpringMeeting (Mar. 2-9, 2000). Larger specific heats and densities lead tohigher thermal inertia and, therefore, a slow transition of operationstatuses, for example start-up and shut-down. Consider, next, the totalflow rate, or capacity, of an individual stream. The increase in flowrate generally leads to a smaller temperature drop of a hot stream (orto a smaller increase in temperature of a cold stream) throughout theexchanger. This also means that the overall approach temperature of allthe streams will increase. If the flow rates of other streams remainunchanged, the local heat flux will increase by increasing the flow rateof one stream. A decrease in the microchannel dimension leads to anincrease in the heat transfer coefficient and, in turn, the heat fluxbetween the fluid in the microchannel and the microchannel wall. For acold stream, its exit temperature becomes higher, for the same massflux, than it was before reducing the size of the microchanneldimension. The overall thermal effectiveness is increased because theamount of heat transferred from or to the other streams also increases.However, the increase in the amount of heat transferred from or to theother streams is generally smaller than that of the stream whosemicrochannel dimension is reduced. There is, however, a practical lowerlimit since the lower the microchannel dimension, the higher thepressure drop. In the present invention, a microchannel having arectangular cross-section is preferred as this geometry gives higherheat transfer coefficients and less solid material is required than witha square or round channel. Particularly, very wide microchannels with avery small microchannels can nearly isolate a particular stream fromthermal communication with other streams. A spacer or rib in, or betweenstreams, may function as a fin to improve the heat transfer between thestream and the solid wall and, in turn, improve the heat transfer toother streams. This effect is also found in ribs, webs, and spacersbetween different streams at temperatures lower than local walltemperatures. However, one of the effects of increasing the dimensionsof webs, ribs, spacers, and perimeter metal is to increase the unwantedmetal cross-sectional area and, in turn, the axial conduction. Anothereffect of increasing dimensions of webs between different streams is toincrease the resistance of transverse heat conduction when heat transferbetween the two streams is desired. These two effects decrease thetransverse heat flux between different streams and, therefore, degradethe heat exchange performance.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the choice ofmicrochannel cross-section is not limited to rectangular; otherpolygonal and even circular or elliptical cross-sections can be usedwithin the scope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIGS. 2 a-2 c, in another embodiment of the presentinvention, an MCT heat exchanger has at least four surfaces 34, 36(indicated but not shown), 38, and 40 (indicated but not shown), andcomprises a first microchannel 32 a, a second microchannel 32 b, and atleast a third microchannel 32 c. In operation, a first stream 42, asecond stream 44, and at least a third stream 46 flow through the firstmicrochannel 32 a, the second micro-channel 32 b, and the at least thirdmicrochannel 32 c, respectively. Illustratively, the third microchannel32 c may further comprise a plurality of interior walls or ribs 33. Aswill be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the ribs 33 introducesignificant design flexibility and allow a virtually limitlesscombination of hydraulic diameters. In addition, the ribs 33 can, inappropriate circumstances, help provide additional structural supportwhen dealing with pressure differentials across the walls separating onemicrochannel from another. While FIGS. 2 a-2 c illustrate a single-passflow pattern, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that theflow pattern may be of any suitable design. In addition, one skilled inthe art will appreciate that the angles between the faces need not beexact right angles as shown; many other angles will be effectivedepending upon the application. Importantly, however, the total thermalpower density of such devices can be about 21 W/cc to 40 W/cc or more.

As will be further appreciated by those skilled in the art, theusefulness of the present invention is not limited to the specificconfigurations illustrated in FIGS. 1 a-1 d and 2 a-2 c. By way ofexample only, the various microchannels may vary in number, size, andcomplexity. The relative positions of one microchannel to othermicrochannels may also be varied as may the thickness as well as theinherent thermal conductivity of the walls separating one micro-channelfrom the other microchannels. See discussion herein above.

Example 1

Referring now to FIGS. 10-15, a heat exchanger was specifically designedto simulate a heat exchanger according to one embodiment of the presentinvention. The heat exchanger used five distinct fluids, denoted inFIGS. 10-15 as Fluids A, B, C, D, and E. Fluids C and D were split intotwo streams each with each stream flowing through separatemicrochannels; fluids A, B, and E each flowed through separatemicrochannels (as Streams A, B, and E, respectively), making a total ofseven microchannels in the heat exchanger. As shown in FIG. 10, Fluid Cflowed through two microchannels as Stream C1 and Stream C2. Similarly,Fluid D flowed through two microchannels as Stream D1 and D2. Theexperimental results show the performance of the heat exchanger and theresults as compared to numerical simulations from a computer program.

Referring again to FIG. 10, the heat exchanger consisted of sevenrectangular microchannels, each ten inches (in.) long. The height ofeach microchannel where Streams A and B flowed was 0.020 in. The heightof the microchannel where Stream E flowed was 0.040 in. The height ofeach microchannel where Stream D1 and Stream D2 flowed was 0.020 in.,and the heights of the microchannels where Streams C1 and C2 flowed were0.030 in. and 0.020 in., respectively. The order of the seven streams inthe heat exchanger was C1, D1, A, B, E, C2, and D2 (shown in FIG. 10).(For clarity and consistency, the heat exchanger microchannels arereferred to by the name of the stream flowing through them. Thus, StreamC1 flows through microchannel C1.)

The heat exchanger was constructed of Inconnel 625 and the microchannelswere made by “popping” a 0.030-in. diameter hole with an electrode inthe places where the rectangular microchannels were needed. After theholes were made, microchannels were made by using wire ElectroDischargeMachining (EDM). If the microchannel width was less than 0.030 in., theedge portions of the original round hole still existed around theoutside of the microchannel; the portions of the original hole werepurposely, alternatingly, offset to the top and bottom of themicrochannels. If the microchannel width was equal to or greater than0.030 in., no portions of the round hole remained.

Referring to FIGS. 11 a and 11 b, manifolding for the inlet ofMicrochannel C2 was accomplished by sending Stream C2 directly into thedevice while manifolding for the outlet of Microchannel C1 wasaccomplished by exiting Stream C1 directly out from the device; theother microchannels were blocked off by welding the microchannels closedon the front and back faces. The inlet to Microchannel C1 was manifoldedby drilling in through the side of the heat exchanger. The outlet fromMicrochannel C1 came directly out of the heat exchanger similar toMicrochannel C2. Microchannel D2 on the edge of the heat exchanger wasalso manifolded in and out of the side of the heat exchanger. The othermicrochannels in the center of the heat exchanger were manifolded in thetop and bottom of the heat exchanger. The diameter of the inlet andoutlet holes was equal to or smaller than the width of the channel,i.e., 0.020 in. to 0.040 in. Generally, three or four holes that servedas the inlet or exit were drilled into each such microchannel.

The exact composition and flowrates of each of the streams for each testare shown in FIG. 12. Experiments were performed with flowratescorresponding to six conditions. The first two conditions were nearlyequivalent except that the reactant and product streams entered the heatexchanger at approximately one-half the expected pressure.

Experiments were performed at the temperatures and pressures shown inFIGS. 12 and 13. The directions of the streams are shown in FIGS. 11 aand 11 b. Streams A, C1, C2 flow in the same direction andcounter-current to the flow of Streams B, D1, D2, and E.

There were three sets of experimental tests performed for the heatexchanger; Tests X, Y, and Z as shown in FIGS. 12-15. The pressure dropsof some of the streams are shown in FIG. 15; all pressure drops weremeasured before and after the fluid entered and exited the microchannel,therefore contraction and expansion losses are included in the measuredpressure losses. The pressure losses of the individual streams weremeasured with differential pressure gauges, most of which measured amaximum differential pressure of 5.4 psi and a resolution of 0.1 psi.The stream labeled D1 was measured with a meter capable of measuring 9.0psi and a resolution of 0.2 psi.

The five-stream heat exchanger demonstrated that a multi-streammicrochannel heat exchanger could successfully heat and cool multiplestreams in a single device. There was reasonable agreement with anumerical simulation that was constructed. The comparison between theexperimental values and the results from the numerical simulation areshown in FIG. 16. The inlet temperatures were fixed and the outlettemperatures calculated.

An approach temperature was also calculated:

${T_{m} = \frac{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\; {T_{i} \cdot m_{i} \cdot {Cp}_{i}}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{n}\; {m_{i} \cdot {Cp}_{i}}}},$

Where T_(m) is the mean temperature of the hot streams at a first end ofthe heat exchanger and is also used to calculate the mean temperature ofthe cold streams at the first end, the mean temperature of the hotstreams at the second end, and the mean temperature of the cold streamsat the second end. T_(i) is the ith hot stream, m_(i) is the mass flowrate (kg/s) of the ith hot stream, Cp_(i) is the heat capacity of theith hot stream. The mean temperature of the hot streams at the first endwas 857 deg. C. and at the second end 250 deg. C. The mean temperatureof cold streams at the first end 730 deg. C. and at the second end 161deg. C. The mean approach temperatures are: 126 deg. C. at the first endand 89 deg. C. at the second end.

Referring now to FIG. 3 a, in another embodiment of the presentinvention, an MCT processing unit 50 has a total core volume V (notshown) and comprises a reactor microchannel 52, a combustor microchannel62, and an oxidizer microchannel 72. The reactor micro-channel 52comprises a first reactor heat exchange microchannel 54, a reactionmicrochannel 56, and a second reactor heat exchange microchannel 58.Alternatively, only one reactor heat exchange microchannel may bepresent. Also, as will be understood by those skilled in the art, theprecise point where the reactor microchannel 52 is no longer primarilyexchanging heat and is functioning primarily as a reactor can bedifficult to determine and can be somewhat arbitrary. For example, thereactor microchannel 52 may be in thermal communication with one or moreother microchannels in the same unit. The reaction microchannel 56 mayfurther include a reaction catalyst 60. The reaction catalyst 60 maycontain any suitable metal or semi-metal and/or their oxides comprisingone or more elements from Groups IIIA, IVA, VA, VIIA, VIIIA, IB, IIB,IIIB, IVB, Ce, Pr, Sm, Tb, Th or their oxides and combinations thereof.The reaction catalyst 60 may also contain promoters which enhance thechemical or physical properties of the reaction catalyst 60, and maycontain any suitable metal, semi-metal or non-metal, and/or theiroxides, comprising one or more elements from the previous list and/orGroup IA, HA, VB, VIB and combinations thereof. The reaction catalyst 60may also be supported on any suitable support material, such as silica,alumina, zirconia, titania, magnesia, yttria, ceria, lanthana, carbon orcombinations of these, which supply either sufficient surface area orchemical interaction to benefit the action of the active constituent.The reaction catalyst 60, by way of example only, may be applied to anengineered substrate such as a felt, foam, fin, mesh, gauze, or foil andthe substrate inserted into a cutout (not shown) in a wall of thereaction microchannel 56 to act as a flow-by catalyst, may be insertedinto the reaction microchannel 56 to act as a flow-through catalyst, ormay be applied to a wall or walls of the reaction microchannel 56 as awashcoat. Thus, the reaction catalyst 60 may be present in the form of apowder or small pellet, a monolith, a wall coating or combinations ofthese forms. In the case of powders and monoliths, the reaction catalyst60 may be comprised of a skeletal, or Raney type, metal. In the case ofa monolith, the reaction catalyst 60 may be present as a slurry or washcoating on a foam, felt, screen, mesh, gauze or similar substrate. Inthe case of a wall coating, the reaction catalyst 60 may be applied asby slurry coating or direct wash coating, preferably with priortreatment of the wall in such a way as to maximize adhesion and/orsurface area. In some cases, constituents of the reaction catalyst 60may be comprised wholly or partially from native materials present inthe wall or monolith alloys. The reaction catalyst 60 may also includetwo or more different catalyst types in different regions of thereaction microchannel 56. Alternatively, depending upon the desiredreaction, the reaction microchannel 56 may include no reaction catalyst60. Finally, there may be no reaction in reaction microchannel 56, forexample, when vaporizing a liquid stream.

The combustor microchannel 62 comprises a first combustor heat exchangemicro-channel 64, a combustion microchannel 66, and a second combustorheat exchange micro-channel 68. As with the reactor microchannel 52,alternatively, only one combustor heat exchange microchannel may bepresent. Also, as with the reactor microchannel 52, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the precise point where thecombustor microchannel 62 is no longer primarily exchanging heat and isfunctioning primarily as a combustor can be difficult to determine andsomewhat arbitrary. And, in fact, combustion and significant heatexchange can, and does, occur in the same region of the combustormicrochannel 62. For example, the combustor microchannel 62 may be inthermal communication with one or more other microchannels in the samedevice. The combustion microchannel 66 may also include a combustioncatalyst 70. To provide further flexibility, the first combustor heatexchange microchannel 64 and the second heat exchange microchannel 68may also include a combustion catalyst 70 to provide pre- andpost-oxidation reactions. The combustion catalyst may contain anysuitable active metal and/or metal oxide, preferably comprising one ormore elements from Groups IIIA, VIIIA or IB, Ce, Pr, Sm or their oxidesand combination thereof, or more preferably comprising one or more ofthe elements Pt, Pd, Y, La, Ce, Pr or their oxides, and combinationsthereof. The combustion catalyst 70 may also be supported on anysuitable support material, such as silica, alumina, zirconia, titania,magnesia, yttria, ceria, lanthana, carbon or combinations thereof, whichsupply either sufficient surface area or chemical interaction to benefitthe action of the active constituent. The combustion catalyst 70 may bepresent in the form of a powder or small pellet, a monolith, a wallcoating or combinations of these forms. In the case of powders andmonoliths, the combustion catalyst 70 may be comprised of a skeletal, orRaney type, metal. In the case of a monolith, the combustion catalyst 70may be present as a slurry or wash coating on a foam, felt, screen,mesh, gauze or similar substrate. In the case of a wall coating, thecombustion catalyst 70 may be applied as by slurry coating or directwash coating, preferably with prior treatment of the wall in such a wayas to maximize adhesion and/or surface area. In some cases, constituentsof the combustion catalyst 70 may be comprised wholly or partially ofnative materials present in the wall or monolith alloys. Alternatively,depending upon the desired combustion, the combustion microchannel 66,the first combustor heat exchange microchannel 64, and the secondcombustor heat exchange microchannel 68 may include no combustioncatalyst 70. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,combustion may be replaced with any number of exothermic reactions. Byway of example only, acetylation, alkylation, hydrodealkylation,epoxidation, Fischer-Tropsch, hydration, dehydration, hydrogenation,oxidative dehydrogenation, hydrolysis, methanation, methanol synthesis,metathesis, oxidation, polymerization, and water-gas shift (WGS).

The oxidizer microchannel 72 comprises one or more apertures 74 throughwhich the oxidizer microchannel 72 is in fluid communication with thecombustor microchannel 62. As with the combustor microchannel 62, theoxidizer microchannel 72 may provide for the introduction of otherreactants to an exothermic reaction.

In operation, by way of example only, a reactants stream 75, such as amixture of steam and methane, is introduced into the reactormicrochannel 52 at the first reactor heat exchange microchannel 54. Afuel stream 77, such as hydrogen or methane or other hydrocarbon, isintroduced into the combustor microchannel 62 at the first combustorheat exchange microchannel 64, and an oxidizer stream 78, such as air,is introduced into the oxidizer microchannel 72. As the reactants stream75 flows through the reaction microchannel 56 it is converted, forexample, in a reforming reaction, to the products stream 58, such as amixture of steam, methane, and hydrogen. A reaction catalyst 60 is used.As the fuel stream 77 flows through the first combustor heat exchangemicrochannel 64 and the combustion microchannel 66, it becomes combinedwith oxidizer 78 introduced into the oxidizer microchannel 72 and thusinto the combustor microchannel 64 via the one or more apertures 74, andcombusts to form the exhaust stream 79. A combustion catalyst 70 may beused. Note that pre-oxidation may occur in the first combustor heatexchange microchannel 64 to preheat the reactants stream 75. Likewise,oxidation may continue into the second combustor heat exchangemicrochannel 68 to provide additional heat energy downstream of thecombustion microchannel 66. By further example only, the reactionconverting the reactants stream 75 into the products stream 76 is anendothermic reaction such as steam methane reforming or hydrocarbondehydrogenation, the fuel stream 77 is hydrogen or a combination ofcarbonaceous fuels, and the oxidizer stream 78 is air.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the presentinvention, embodiments of which are represented and described herein,may be useful for unit operations where there is only a single reaction.By way of example only, reactor microchannel 52 may serve as avaporizer. Similarly, an MCT device may comprise a first combustormicrochannel in thermal communication with a second combustormicrochannel, the combustor microchannels supported by one or moreoxidizer microchannels. And, as discussed herein above, oxidativecombustion need not be one of the reactions involved. To furtherillustrate the flexibility of the present invention, FIG. 3 b shows amodification of the MCT processing unit 50 of FIG. 3 a. All descriptionsin FIG. 3 a are attributable to FIG. 3 b but the flow is shown in acounter-current pattern.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the present invention. An MCTprocessing unit 80 has a total core volume V (not shown) and comprises areactor microchannel 82, a combustor microchannel 92, and an oxidizermicrochannel 102. The reactor microchannel 82 comprises a first reactorheat exchange microchannel 84, a reaction microchannel 86, and a secondreactor heat exchange microchannel 88. Alternatively, only one reactorheat exchange microchannel may be present. Also, as will be understoodby those skilled in the art, the precise point where the reactormicrochannel 82 is functioning primarily as a reactor or not can bedifficult to determine and can be somewhat arbitrary. For example, thereactor microchannel 82 may be in thermal communication with one or moreother microchannels in the same device. The reaction microchannel 86 mayfurther include a reaction catalyst 90. Alternatively, depending uponthe desired reaction, the reaction microchannel 86 may include noreaction catalyst 90.

The combustor microchannel 92 comprises a first combustor heat exchangemicro-channel 94, a combustion microchannel 96, and a second combustorheat exchange micro-channel 98. As with the reactor microchannel 82,alternatively, only one combustor heat exchange microchannel may bepresent. Also, as with the reactor microchannel 82, as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, the precise point where thecombustor microchannel 92 is no longer primarily exchanging heat and isfunctioning primarily as a combustor can be difficult to determine andsomewhat arbitrary. For example, the combustor microchannel 92 may be inthermal communication with one or more other microchannels in the samedevice. The combustion microchannel 96 may also include a combustioncatalyst 100. To provide further flexibility, the first combustor heatexchange microchannel 94 and the second heat exchange microchannel 98may also include combustion catalyst 100. The combustion catalyst 100may be [different types of catalysts and different methods of applying].Alternatively, depending upon the desired combustion, the combustionmicrochannel 96, the first combustor heat exchange microchannel 94, andthe second combustor heat exchange microchannel 98 may include nocombustion catalyst 100.

The oxidizer microchannel 102 comprises one or more apertures 104through which the oxidizer microchannel 102 is in fluid communicationwith the combustor microchannel 92.

Operation of the MCT processing unit 80, by way of example only, isanalogous to that described herein above in reference to the MCTprocessing unit 50.

As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the apertures 74(shown in FIGS. 3 a and 3 b) and the apertures 104 (shown in FIG. 4) addyet another dimension to the design flexibility of the presentinvention. By varying the placement, cross-section, shape, and size of aplurality of apertures 74 and of a plurality of apertures 104,significant flexibility can be achieved in combining two or morestreams. Likewise, the thickness of the material through which theapertures 74 and the apertures 104 are created can add yet anotherdimension to the design flexibility. By changing these variables, themixing or fluid communication between the two streams can be uniquelycontrolled. By way of example only, in a combustion application, thetemperature profile and the heat transferred can be tailored to theparticular application and reactor design. This is achieved because theoxidizer stream 78 acts as a limiting agent in a combustion reaction.Thus, the apertures 74 and apertures 104 function to introduce specificamounts of the oxidizer stream 78 to specific points so as to controlthe rate and extent of the combustion reaction along the entire lengthof the combustor microchannel 62 and combustor microchannel 92.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an MCT processing system 110 has a total corevolume V (not shown) and comprises a plurality of MCT processing units111, a first termination microchannel 136, and a second terminationmicrochannel 138. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, thechoice of termination modes may be varied according to the designrequirements of the MCT processing system 110. As discussed hereinabove, to realize the advantages of MCT, multiple MCT processing units111 must be combined into an integrated system to approach the totalthroughput of a large-scale operation. The MCT processing system 110helps accomplish that by integrating a plurality of MCT processing units111, the basic technology of which has been introduced herein above.

Each MCT processing unit 111 comprises a first reactor microchannel 112,a second reactor microchannel 113, a first combustor microchannel 122, asecond combustor micro-channel 123, a first oxidizer microchannel 132,and a second oxidizer microchannel 133. The first reactor microchannel112 comprises a first reactor heat exchange microchannel 114, a firstreaction microchannel 116, and a third reactor heat exchangemicrochannel 118. The second reactor microchannel 113 comprises a secondreactor heat exchange microchannel 115 and a second reactionmicrochannel 117 and is in fluid communication with the third reactorheat exchange microchannel 118. The first reaction microchannel 116 mayalso include a reaction catalyst 120. The second reaction microchannel117 may also include a reaction catalyst 120. Preferably, as shown inFIG. 5, a reactor microchannel tongue 140 is also included.

The first combustor microchannel 122 comprises a first combustor heatexchange microchannel 124, a first combustion microchannel 126, and athird combustor heat exchange microchannel 128. The second combustormicrochannel 123 comprises a second combustor heat exchange microchannel125 and a second combustion microchannel 127 and is in fluidcommunication with the third combustor heat exchange microchannel 128.The first combustion microchannel 126 may also include a combustioncatalyst 130. The second combustion microchannel 127 may also include acombustion catalyst 130. Preferably, as shown in FIG. 5, a combustormicrochannel tongue 142 is also included. The reactor microchanneltongue 140 and the combustor microchannel tongue 142 provide flowstabilization and, if non-rigid, flow equalization to overcome minorvariations in microchannel dimensions.

The first oxidizer microchannel 132 comprises at least one aperture 134through which the first oxidizer microchannel 132 is in fluidcommunication with the first combustor microchannel 126. The secondoxidizer microchannel 133 comprises at least one aperture 134 throughwhich the second oxidizer microchannel 133 is in fluid communicationwith the second combustor microchannel 123.

Operation of each MCT processing unit 111, by way of example only, isanalogous to that described herein above in reference to the MCTprocessing unit 50 and the MCT processing unit 80.

Referring now to FIG. 6 a, an MCT processing complex 210 has a totalcore volume V (not shown) and comprises a plurality of MCT processingsystems 110 (best illustrated in FIG. 5), a first reactants manifold212, a second reactants manifold 214, a products manifold 216, a firstfuel manifold 218, and a second fuel manifold 220. As will beappreciated by those skilled in the art, the precise arrangement of eachmanifold is subject to various design considerations and it is withinthe scope and intent of the present invention to include other sucharrangements. By way of example only, the first fuel manifold 218, thesecond fuel manifold 220, the first reactants manifold 212, and thesecond reactants manifold 214 the first reactants manifold 212, and thesecond reactants manifold 214 all terminate on the same face of the MCTprocessing complex 210 but at different positions along an external faceof the MCT processing complex 210. (Also seen in FIGS. 8 a and 8 b.) Aswill further be appreciated by those skilled in the art, an exhaustmanifold (not shown) could also be included to collect fluids exitingthe third combustor heat exchange microchannels 128. By way of furtherillustration, FIGS. 7 a and 7 b show a partial cutaway negativewireframe view of the microchannel arrangement shown in FIG. 6 a. Inaddition to a plurality of MCT processing systems 110, it is preferableto repeat the MCT processing complex 210 to form an MCT processing stack310 (illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9) capable of high throughput.

FIGS. 6 b and 6 c illustrate a further embodiment of the presentinvention for manifolding the various microchannels. For example, areactants flue 213 a provides fluid communication between a plurality offirst reactor microchannels 116 and an outside surface of the MCTprocessing complex 210 via the first reactants manifold 212 and a firstreactants manifold stub 213 and between a plurality of second reactantsmicrochannels 117 and an outside surface of the MCT processing complex210 via the second reactants manifold 214 and a second reactantsmanifold stub 215. Likewise, a products flue 217 a provides analogousfluid communication for a plurality of third reactor heat exchangemicrochannels 118, a fuel flue 219 a provides analogous fluidcommunication for a plurality of first combustor microchannels 122 and aplurality of second combustor microchannels 123, and the oxidizer flue223 a provides analogous fluid communication for a plurality of firstoxidizer microchannels 132 and a plurality of second oxidizermicrochannels 133. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,an exhaust flue may provide fluid communication between a plurality ofthird combustor heat exchange microchannels 128, thus furtherillustrating the design flexibility of the present invention. Inaddition, by way of example only, the orientations of the firstreactants manifold stub 213, the first reactants manifold 212, and theplurality of first reactor microchannels 116 relative to one another isvirtually infinitely flexible. Thus, allowing even further designflexibility depending upon the specific application.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 a and 8 b, an MCT processing stack 310 has atotal core volume V (not shown) and comprises a plurality of MCTprocessing complexes 210. Shown in FIG. 8 a are a plurality of firstfuel manifolds 218 and second fuel manifolds 220 in substantial linearalignment, a plurality of first reactants manifolds 212 and secondreactants manifolds 214 in substantial linear alignment, and a pluralityof third combustion heat exchanger microchannels 128 in substantiallinear alignment. Shown in FIG. 8 b are a plurality of first oxidizermanifolds 222 and second oxidizer manifolds 224 in substantial linearalignment, and a plurality of products manifolds 216 in substantiallinear alignment. While FIGS. 8 a and 8 b illustrate a specificrelational arrangement of manifolds and the plurality of third combustorheat exchange microchannels 128, it will be understood by one skilled inthe art that other arrangements are possible.

Referring now to FIG. 9, an MCT processing stack 310 comprises aplurality of MCT processing complexes 210, a reactants header 312, aproducts header 314, a fuel header 316, an oxidizer header 318, and anexhaust header 320. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art,the precise arrangement of each manifold is subject to various designconsiderations and it is within the scope and intent of the presentinvention to include other such arrangements.

Fabrication of the MCT processing stack 310 is by know techniques. TheMCT processing complexes 210 are made as first subassemblies. Theheaders 312, 314, 316, 318 are then conventionally welded onto theexterior of the subassemblies. The heating rate during welding must beclosely monitored to ensure a high level of quality; hot spots maydamage the subassemblies, including delamination. In addition to weldingon the headers 312, 314, 316, 318, the subassemblies themselves may bewelded into place on any form of infrastructure. This infrastructure, byway of example only, may serve as outer protection, fixing the device inspace, safety containment, insulation, cooling jacket, and liftingpoints.

In operation, by way of example only, a reactants stream 75 isintroduced into the reactants header 312, a products stream 76 isdischarged from the products header 314, a fuel stream 77 is introducedinto the fuel header 316, an oxidizer stream 78 is introduced into theoxidizer header 318, and the exhaust stream 79 is discharged form theexhaust header 320. The embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 a-9 shows aplurality of integral heat exchanger and reactor combinations. There arefive distinct fluid streams: The reactants stream 75, the productsstream 76, the oxidizer stream 78, the fuel stream 77, and the exhauststream 79. As shown in the accompanying figures, the exhaust stream 79exits straight out of each MCT processing complex 210 via each thirdcombustor heat exchange microchannel 128. Alternatively, any of theother streams could be headered straight off each MCT processing complex210. The exhaust stream 79 was selected to minimize the overall pressuredrop of the oxidizer stream 78-fuel stream 77-exhaust stream 79 system.The four remaining streams are headered on the sides of each MCTprocessing complex 210 and, thus, on the sides of the MCT processingstack 310. Each fluid stream enters or exits at different points alongthe length of each MCT processing complex 210. For multi-stream devices,therefore, fluids may enter or exit at different points of the MCTprocessing complex 210, thus allowing much design flexibility in thethermal profile. For example, streams that enter much warmer than otherstreams may be selected to be headered further down the length, ortoward warmer sections of the device. Thus, advantage is taken of themonotonically increasing temperature profile feature of the device. Theheights of the manifolds is selected to generally minimize overallpressure drop while still allowing for good flow distribution among theinternal array of microchannels. Smaller heights may be utilized wherehigher pressure drops can be tolerated.

CLOSURE

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown anddescribed, it is to be understood that various modifications thereofwill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading theSpecification. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventiondisclosed herein is intended to cover such modifications as fall withinthe scope of the appended claims.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a first millichannel; a secondmillichannel, the second millichannel in thermal communication with thefirst millichannel; and a third millichannel, the third millichannel influid communication with the second millichannel.
 2. A process,comprising: (a) introducing a first stream into the first millichannelof claim 1; (b) introducing a second stream into the second millichannelof claim 1; and (c) introducing a third stream into the thirdmillichannel of claim
 1. 3. The process of claim 2, further comprising:(a) chemically reacting the second stream with the third stream to forma product; and (b) transferring heat between the first stream and thesecond stream.
 4. An apparatus, comprising: a first section and a secondsection in combination; the first section comprising: a first firstsection millichannel; and a second first section millichannel; thesecond section comprising: a first second section millichannel in fluidcommunication with the first first section millichannel; a second secondsection millichannel in fluid communication with the second firstsection millichannel; and a third second section millichannel in fluidcommunication with the second second section millichannel.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 4, wherein: the first section comprises a first unitoperation; and the second section comprises a second unit operation. 6.The apparatus of claim 5, wherein: the first unit operation comprises aheat exchanger; and the second unit operation comprises a reactor. 7.The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first second section millichannelis in thermal communication with the second second section millichannel.8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first first sectionmillichannel is in thermal communication with the second first sectionmillichannel.
 9. A process, comprising: (a) distributing a first inletstream into a plurality of first millichannels, thereby forming aplurality of first inlet streams; (b) distributing a second inlet streaminto a plurality of second millichannels, thereby forming a plurality ofsecond inlet streams; (c) distributing a third inlet stream into aplurality of third millichannels, thereby forming a plurality of thirdinlet streams; (d) contacting the plurality of second inlet streams andthe plurality of third inlet streams, wherein at least one chemicalreaction is effected, thereby forming a plurality of second outletstreams; (e) transferring heat between the plurality of first inletstreams and the at least one chemical reaction, thereby forming aplurality of first outlet streams; and (f) transferring heat between theplurality of first inlet streams and the plurality of first outletstreams.